Garret Kramer | A New Paradigm in Sports Psychology and Performance Coachinghttp://garretkramer.com
The Inner Source of Athletic ExcellenceTue, 06 Dec 2016 09:06:54 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.6.1Join me for the bi-monthly teleseminar series, Stillpower LIVE. Every episode I discuss the ideas behind Stillpower and how you can apply them to your careers and lives. Each show includes guests and call-in questions as we talk about the states of mind that lead to success and contentment — on and off the playing field.Garret KramerGarret Kramersupport@outthinkgroup.comsupport@outthinkgroup.com (Garret Kramer)The Inner Source of Athletic ExcellenceGarret Kramer | A New Paradigm in Sports Psychology and Performance Coachinghttp://garretkramer.com/wp-content/uploads/powerpress/SLalbum-274.jpghttp://garretkramer.com
Why It’s Unproductive to Try to Make Productive Choiceshttp://garretkramer.com/why-its-unproductive-to-try-to-make-productive-choices/
Tue, 06 Dec 2016 09:06:54 +0000http://garretkramer.com/?p=5379Here’s a brief, but important, video about the choices we make and how we make them. Hope you find it helpful.

Garret

]]>Why Our Thinking and Feelings Ebb and Flowhttp://garretkramer.com/why-our-thinking-and-feelings-ebb-and-flow/
Tue, 29 Nov 2016 16:04:31 +0000http://garretkramer.com/?p=5377Read More]]>Since last week’s article, quite a few readers have reached out and asked about this paragraph:

Within all of us, thought builds up, falls away, builds up, falls away, and so on. When it builds up, we feel bad—e.g., apprehensive and unworthy. When it falls away, we feel good. And, again, these feelings occur independent of circumstance or environment.

Many of you simply want to know why thought builds up and falls away; plus, if it’s got nothing to do with circumstance or environment, why do our feelings trend up, down, and back once more?

Human beings are blessed with the ability to think. We’re the only inhabitants of the planet that possess the power to process thought—i.e., we own an intellect or personal thought system. And while the intellect is really good at solving math problems and the like, it also tends to do this: Form an illusionary causal link between our feelings (inside) and the physical world (outside)—which requires a ton of personal thought, obstructs the connection to God, and causes us to feel bad or lost. It’s not until we stop looking outside for answers, or look within, that thought falls away and the connection to God is cleared (good feelings return).

From birth, everyone starts succumbing to the outside-in illusion and waking up again. Spiritual in nature, we’re thrust into a physical world. We look outside. We look inside. Thought builds and thought falls away. Feelings trend up and feelings trend down.

The short answer to why our thinking and feelings ebb and flow: The dance between the spiritual and the physical is the human experience—and, gratefully, you and I are human beings.

]]>The Jonah Complexhttp://garretkramer.com/the-jonah-complex/
Tue, 22 Nov 2016 12:09:03 +0000http://garretkramer.com/?p=5373Read More]]>According to Wikipedia: “The Jonah Complex is the fear of success which prevents self-actualization or the realization of one’s potential. It’s the fear of one’s own greatness, the evasion of one’s destiny, or the avoidance of exercising one’s talent.” The name comes from the Biblical story of Prophet Jonah—and at all levels of sport, performance-based activities, or businesses, this pattern is common. Many of us are familiar with athletes who habitually perform poorly whenever they near the lead or get close to a personal best. And it seems as if many people sabotage their own success.

But why? Why would anyone prevent the actualization or realization of their own potential? Why would anyone evade their own destiny? Why would anyone get in their own way?

Over the years, philosophers, psychologists, clerics, and coaches have cited several causes. Most (as the definition of the Jonah Complex suggests) revolve around apprehension (fear) and a sense of unworthiness. But here’s my question: Can experiencing apprehension and unworthiness really be the reason that someone would habitually falter? They are feelings. And a feeling, by definition, is a result or reaction. An effect. Not a cause.

So, let’s take a look at this self-defeating complex—and its actual cause. I’m hoping that the following principle resonates within you, clears up some confusion, strips away a label, and thus propels you to grasp the brass rings you rightly deserve.

—

At the root of the Jonah Complex is an innocent, but widespread misunderstanding. All human beings, to varying degrees, fall for the misunderstanding or illusion that our feelings are the result of circumstance or environment. When, in truth, our feelings are exclusively the result of the normal ebb and flow of our own thinking.

Here’s how it works: Within all of us, thought builds up, falls away, builds up, falls away, and so on. When it builds up, we feel bad—e.g., apprehensive and unworthy. When it falls away, we feel good. And, again, these feelings occur independent of circumstance or environment.

This is why, for example, people who get caught up in this misunderstanding tend to credit their good feelings to something like sunshine and blame their bad feelings on something like traffic. They fail to realize that their thinking is causing their feelings, not the sun or traffic.

To follow this further, let’s say a pro golfer suffers from the same misunderstanding to a high degree. What do you suppose will happen when he gets in contention during the final round of a tournament, and at the same time his thinking builds up creating bad feelings such as apprehension and unworthiness?

You guessed it: The Jonah Complex.

He’ll mistakenly attribute his feelings to where he stands on the leader board—in his mind, being in contention is the cause—and because he doesn’t like to feel bad (no one does), he’ll pull himself out of contention (stop making birdies or make an unexplainable bogey) in a quest to feel better or cope.

—

Does the Jonah Complex play a role in your life? If yes, it’s essential to know that you’re experiencing an issue of innocent misunderstanding, rather than an issue of bad feelings that need to be fixed.

People who tend to “rise to the occasion” or “come through in the big moment” deeply (intuitively) grasp what I’ve pointed to in this article: Feelings are connected to the normal and uncontrollable ebb and flow of thought. Not to the outside. Therefore, the performance level of those unaffected by the Jonah Complex remains consistent no matter what circumstance or environment they find themselves in. Better yet, no matter what they’re thinking and feeling, too.

]]>In This Togetherhttp://garretkramer.com/in-this-together/
Tue, 15 Nov 2016 08:01:38 +0000http://garretkramer.com/?p=5371Read More]]>Whether you voted for Clinton or Trump: We’re in this together. Whether you’re feeling bad or good: We’re in this together. You see, no matter what happens on the outside, we all work the same way. When our thinking jams, we feel negative. When our thinking clears, we feel positive.

This means that it’s actually impossible for us to be divided by politics or personal opinion. That’s an outside-in trick of the mind that the country, and the world, is falling for. We simply feel divided right now because we’re looking outside and judging each other—adding and jamming personal thought—in a quest to fix or justify our own feelings.

Remember: No one controls what they think or how they feel. Don’t suggest that others control the uncontrollable. Love is a spiritual truth that connects us all. So let’s look inside, not out, and do our part to keep this ever-present connection clear. We’re in this together. We are one.

]]>What It Means to “Look Within”http://garretkramer.com/what-it-means-to-look-within/
Tue, 08 Nov 2016 13:01:46 +0000http://garretkramer.com/?p=5368Read More]]>Everyone’s heard the phrase, “Look within for the answers you seek.” Sages have offered this advice since the beginning of time. But have you ever wondered what it actually means? Have you ever attempted to look within, but to no avail?

Well, early in my adult life I did too. Whenever I found myself in a funk or struggled to make a decision, I searched within myself, and my life situations, for the solution. If I felt insecure, that was because of something that happened to me when I was younger. If I couldn’t solve a problem, I just wasn’t smart enough. If a coach benched me, I needed to work harder at my game. Trouble was: I wasn’t getting more secure, quick witted, or successful. In fact, it seemed that looking within was making me worse.

But then I saw it.

Looking within didn’t mean within me in a physical or personal sense, and it doesn’t mean within you either. To look within means to look within the heart and soul of the human experience.

In other words, the only thing that human beings are capable of feeling is an unbreakable connection to a higher power or God. And we feel this connection via an uncontrollable spiritual energy that we call thought. When thought builds up or we overthink, we feel insecure because the connection to God becomes obstructed. When thought empties, we feel security, passion, understanding, and love because the connection to God becomes clear. “Look within” is simply a reminder that our feelings, perceptions, and ability to find answers are the result of where we are on this spiritual spectrum (clutter or clarity) at any moment in time.

Sure, looking within means to turn away from things on the outside (money, traffic, another’s behavior, the weather, the past, the future, any circumstance or environment) since they play no role in how we feel. But looking within doesn’t mean that you and I are responsible for our feelings. Thought alone is on the inside—it’s either blocking the connection to above or it isn’t. We are on the outside too.

]]>Instant Reliefhttp://garretkramer.com/instant-relief/
Tue, 01 Nov 2016 10:20:25 +0000http://garretkramer.com/?p=5366Read More]]>Here are the details of an interesting encounter (between me and a complete stranger) that reveals the sometimes instantaneous effect of pointing a person inside for answers.

Early last Thursday morning, I was in line for coffee at Starbucks and overheard the young couple next to me complaining vigorously about the presidential election. I mean, they were really griping. And while I don’t make a habit of doing this, for some reason I turned to them and said: “You do know that the only thing that can make you upset is your own thinking, right?”

The man didn’t hear me, or pretended he didn’t, but the woman slowly responded: “Can you please repeat that?”

Which I did.

She then calmly and clearly stated: “Wow. If I can remember that, it’s going to be a fantastic day!”

—

P.S. As I walked past them to leave, the women whispered, “Thank you.” And as I smiled her way, I noticed a tear rolling down her cheek.

Indeed, the power—and relief—of waking up to the truth that we only work inside to out, never ceases to amaze.

Garret

]]>From Adversity to Answers: The Rule of the Two A’shttp://garretkramer.com/from-adversity-to-answers-the-rule-of-the-two-as/
Tue, 25 Oct 2016 13:49:35 +0000http://garretkramer.com/?p=5365Here’s a short video about the source of both adversity and answers. “The Rule of the Two A’s” has served as an essential reminder for me and my clients for years.

Garret

]]>Stuck to Unstuck: The Beauty of the Designhttp://garretkramer.com/stuck-to-unstuck-the-beauty-of-the-design/
Tue, 18 Oct 2016 10:22:16 +0000http://garretkramer.com/?p=5360Read More]]>This week, here’s a reminder about the beauty and simplicity of how the human mind works. Looking in this direction tends to spark comfort in me. I hope the same for you.

Garret

P.S. Click the following link for information about an upcoming two-day workshop (December 3rd and 4th) that I’ll be conducting in London with one of my closest friends and colleagues: https://goo.gl/TOXyey.

]]>Coping Through Versus Rising Abovehttp://garretkramer.com/coping-through-versus-rising-above/
Tue, 11 Oct 2016 12:00:17 +0000http://garretkramer.com/?p=5358Here’s a quick reminder of the folly in trying to cope through, or strategically fix, your feelings before, during, or after a performance or event. Questions or comments, rise above, then reach out to me!

Garret

]]>What We Can Actually Learn From Trump’s Comments About PTSDhttp://garretkramer.com/what-we-can-actually-learn-from-trumps-comments-about-ptsd/
Tue, 04 Oct 2016 16:32:08 +0000http://garretkramer.com/?p=5355This video provides my thoughts about the serious and sensitive topic/condition of PTSD, and what we can do to help the brave men and women who suffer. I rarely agree with the direction that Donald Trump points. But this time, he stumbled onto something worth talking about.